1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle including a plurality of seats located next to each other in a vehicle width direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are known vehicles including a plurality of seats located next to each other in the vehicle width direction and being capable of running on uneven terrain, such as ROVs (Recreational Off-highway Vehicles) and side-by-side ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles). Vehicles running on uneven terrain are required to absorb impacts and damp vibrations while running. Shock absorbers have been used to absorb impacts and damp vibrations in these vehicles.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,819,220, 7,278,648 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0048833 disclose vehicles including left and right front wheels, and left and right shock absorbers connected to the left and right front wheels, respectively. These vehicles include a front cover integral with front wheel fenders. The shock absorbers are located under the front cover. The shock absorbers are hidden under the front cover and are not visible when the vehicle is seen from above.
Some vehicles capable of running on uneven terrain are required to have an improved running performance than before. In order to improve the running performance, it is preferred to elongate the stroke of the shock absorbers. Since it is difficult, due to the vehicle layout, to raise the position of the lower end portion of the shock absorber, elongating the stroke requires raising the position of the upper end portion of the shock absorber. Then, it is necessary to locate the front cover at a higher position in order to avoid interference between the upper end portion of the shock absorber and the front cover. On the other hand, vehicles capable of running on uneven terrain are preferred to have a desirable front visibility when climbing up a steep hill, for example. For improved visibility, the position of the front cover is preferably low. With conventional vehicles, however, it has been difficult to improve the front visibility while providing an increased stroke for the shock absorbers of the front wheels.